Craniological Materials of Mordvins-Mokshas in the II Millennium AD

Abstract

The article deals with the question whether the Mordvins’s presence in the Golden Horde had a significant influence on its physical features. For this purpose, the study of the summary craniological series of the Mordvins-Mokshas of Moksha region of the II millennium AD was carried out. This series included skulls from four Mordvovian archaeological sites, located at the distance of 20-50 km from the Narovchat settlement (Golden Horde city of Mokhsha): Bednodemyanovsky (XIII-XIV centuries), Karmaleysky (XII-XIV centuries), Chernozersky (XIV-XV centuries) and Kelgininsky (XVII-XVIII centuries) burial grounds. The male part of the summary series (11 skulls and fragments) is characterized by mesocrania and the gracile mesoprosopic facial skeleton. The female part of the series (20 skulls and fragments) is differing by dolichocrania. The facial skeleton is of medium height and small width. Men and women have a Caucasian appearance. However, the relatively small angle of protrusion of the nose is observable. During the study, the comparison of the series of the Mordvins of the Moksha region of the II millennium AD was made. The series was compared with craniological samples from the necropolises of the Golden Horde cities, Mordovian burial grounds of various historical eras and some other craniological samples from Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. The results of the comparative analysis showed that the series under study is the more Caucasian then the samples of most Golden Horde cities and the earlier craniological series of the Mordvins (Seliksensky burial ground and burial grounds in the basin of the Tsna river). Calculation of the Mahalanobis (D2) distance between the Mordvins of the Moksha region of the II millennium AD and some craniological series of Eastern Europe showed its morphological convergence with some samples of the medieval Mordvins (especially from the Barbashinsky burial ground) and the Eastern Slavs. The sample under study did not detect morphological similarities with the craniological series of most Golden Horde cities of the Lower Volga region. Obviously, the stay of the Upper Moksha region as part of the Golden Horde did not have a significant impact on the morphology of the local population.

Keywords

• paleoanthropology
• craniological materials
• upper moksha region
• mordvins-mokshas
• golden horde